Privatization of education sector

Sabria S. Jawhar

About Me

was named by the Dubai-based Arabian Business magazine as one of the "world's most influential Arabs" in its 2010 "Power 100" list. She earned her PhD in applied and Educational Linguistics from Newcastle Upon Tyne University, UK, and works as an Assistant professor at King Saud bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, Nursing college. She writes for the Huffington Post, Arabisto.com and the Arab News, an English-language daily newspaper based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She previously served as the Saudi Gazette's Jeddah bureau chief and is one of the leading women journalists in the Kingdom. Her commentaries on terrorism, women’s rights and reform in Saudi Arabia also are carried by leading websites, blogs and print publications worldwide.
In the summer of 2005, she earned a Fellowship at the prestigious Korean Press Foundation and Yonsei Communication Research Institute in Seoul, South Korea. In June 2007 she participated as a panelist in the United Nation's 15th International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East in Tokyo, Japan.

Partners

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

WHEN I was a young girl growing up in Madina, it was common for my mother and her neighbors to welcome new residents in our locality – irrespective if they were Saudi or not – with food and friendly visits.This was not a custom of Saudis only, but it was common throughout the Arab world also.

Those days are sadly passing away, the recent Expat Explorer survey conducted by HSBC bank shows just that. The survey found that only 54 percent of expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates make friends with their Emirati hosts.While the report did not specifically mention Saudi Arabia, the UAE can certainly serve as an example for other GCC countries.

The survey examined, whether expatriates made friends with local people; whether they joined a local community organization; whether they learned the language of their host country; and whether they purchased property there.Questioning 2,155 expats in 14 countries, the survey found that Canada was the friendliest country for foreigners, followed by Germany and Australia.

Germany ranked the top spot for expats learning the local language, Spain and Belgium followed next. France was the best place for foreigners to buy property. India, China and Singapore were the least desirable countries for foreigners to buy property in.The UAE was ranked as the last place where foreigners could make friends with the locals and was ranked 11th for learning its local language, Arabic.

It was slightly better at the No.7 spot for purchase of property, and was ranked 10th for how many expats join a local community group. Overall, the UAE ranked 13th, second last, as the best place for foreigners to assimilate.I am not singling out the UAE for inhospitality towards foreigners.

On the contrary, my visits to Dubai have been nothing but pleasurable and my non-Saudi friends have only praises about what wonderful places Dubai and Abu Dhabi are to live in.But it doesn’t surprise me in the least that non-Arabs have difficultly in learning the language and making friends with locals.

One UAE newspaper, which reported the results of the HSBC survey, pointed out the significant cultural differences between Westerners and Arabs. For example, Arabs may not feel comfortable having newcomers in their home, especially since their wives and daughters in conservative families may live more secluded lives.Perhaps that is true, but to me the reasons are much more fundamental than cultural differences.

We now live in a society – and I am talking about Saudi Arabia as much as any other GCC country – that has less time to practice the traditional hospitality Saudis and Emiratis are so well known for.I know that in places like Baha that are more traditional, greeting newcomers is very common in the community.

But we are increasingly adopting a more urban lifestyle as our society is getting accustomed to the comforts of modernity. Satellite television, the Internet, computer games, DVD movies and, I suppose, the pure joy of shopping at the new mall, has irrevocably changed us into insular families.This is not criticism for the simple fact that we are products of the 21st century. The modern lifestyle is having an effect on all of us.

I’m sure most of us have not even consciously felt the loss of some of our traditions as we now lead a more hectic lifestyle that is limited to our families and existing friends.But we are also a lesser people because of it. Saudis should take a look at the expat websites and booklets giving information to foreigners coming to Saudi Arabia for the first time. One of the prevailing theme throughout the publications are references to the “famous Saudi hospitality and generosity.”

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Nearly three million Muslims crowded for Haj at the holy sites this year and almost no major problem arose this time.

Virtually every pilgrim is going home with cherished memories of that experience.Haj has not been without its problems over the years, owing mostly to the fact that the growing numbers of visitors have made the area too small to accommodate everyone.

I still remember the tragedy in 2006 when more than 300 people died in a stampede.It appears, though, that such disasters are now a thing of the past as the newly-built high-tech four-level SR4-billion Jamrat Bridge has the capacity to accommodate up to 300,000 people per hour and up to 5 million pilgrims in total.

This new modern bridge has eliminated congestion problems. Space to store pilgrims’ luggage nearby was allotted that reduced congestion and safety issues experienced in the past.The new Jamrat Bridge shows the foresight of King Abdullah to ensure that Makkah becomes modernized enough to comfortably accommodate the growing number of Haj pilgrims.

Makkah is Islam’s most important venue and such a massive infrastructure project suits, though cannot equal, its worth.Consider that under King Abdullah’s direction more than 40,000 fireproof tents have been established at Mina, along with 42,000 air-conditioners, hundreds of thousands of electric lamps and thousands of fire extinguishers.And that is just to accommodate the pilgrims.

It’s been reported that approximately US$7 billion have been invested in infrastructure that includes an elaborate network of tunnels for water and electricity, and fly-overs to ease traffic congestion.Another ambitious aspect of the modernization efforts is the plan to build a SR5 billion monorail that would link Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifa and Arafat by 2010.

The ongoing project is expected to be the world’s largest renovation scheme that includes luxury hotels, and commercial and residential towers. The residential towers will house most of the pilgrims.

Project planners are said to be courting top architects Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid to head the design renovations.To give an idea of the breadth and scope of the project, consider that Hadid, the 58-year-old Iraqi-born architect, is probably the top-ranked building designer, next to American architect Frank Gehry and Foster, who is being considered for the job.

Hadid is the first woman to win the Pritzker Price for Architecture, given annually to an architect who performs significant achievements, and is known for her extreme approach to building design.She is responsible for designing the Contemporary Arts Center in Rome, the Guggenheim Museum in Taiwan, the Glasgow Museum of Transport, the Marseilles Museum in France and the Abu Dhabi Bridge in the United Arab Emirates.

Even if Hadid fails to win a commission, the fact that an Arab woman is in the running for such a prestigious project speaks volumes of King Abdullah’s vision to bring greatness to Makkah; a greatness that is not limited to buildings and infrastructure but extends to the people who will make a modern Makkah a reality.

By the end of this decade Makkah will rise to a level that will easily accommodate the ever growing number of Muslims worldwide. Like other planned tourism infrastructure projects throughout Saudi Arabia, the holy city will become much more than a venue to perform Haj. It is, as it always has been, the guiding beacon for all Muslims. But now it will be a holy city with modern amenities.

RIYADH - A Saudi charity which helps divorced and underprivileged women has won a European Union prize for human rights groups in the Arabian Gulf, the Riyadh office of the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women won the first Chaillot Prize over several other rights groups for its range of activities, including preparing underprivileged and undereducated women for jobs, setting up a school for Down Syndrome children, and assisting needy families, according to the Commission.

The award was announced to mark the 60th anniversary on Wednesday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, originally presented to the UN General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.Several rights groups in member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council were short-listed for the prize, which fetches the winner $7,760 in prize money.

“With the launching of the Chaillot Prize, the EC desires to acknowledge the extraordinary work which is done by some institutions and individuals in the field of human rights in all the Gulf countries,” said Antonia Calvo, the EC deputy head of mission for the region.

Al-Nahda is one of Saudi Arabia’s oldest and most prominent non-governmental organizations, and its first foundation for women, founded in 1962 under the auspices of Princess Sara Al-Faisal and Princess Latifa Al-Faisal.Aside from helping thousands of poor women learn crafts and trades to help support themselves or augment family income, the group helps to provide housing to poor families and operates health awareness programs for poor women.The prize will be awarded in ceremony in Riyadh on Dec. 17, Calvo said. - AFP

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

LAST September I wrote about the modest advances that the Saudi General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (GCTA) has been making in order to create a better climate for foreigners to visit Saudi Arabia.

I don’t anticipate that it will be easy for a lot of Westerners who may become impatient with our famous, or infamous, governmental red tape when it comes to issuing visas to visitors, but I certainly applaud those hearty people who have the patience and will to make the trip.

That’s why I was so glad to hear that 38 American tourists visited Tabuk last week by way of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. They visited the ancient sites in the region and had a look at the old Hijaz Railway and the historic Tabuk fortress.

The Saudi Gazette reported that it was only one trip of a scheduled 68 visits expected to Saudi Arabia from the United States and Europe.The trip marks an important milestone in Saudi history as Saudi Arabia moves from a closed society to one that is embracing its international standing.

For those of us who have been following the GCTA, we looked on skeptically as the Commission began exploring tourism options shortly after 9/11.I don’t think many of us in the news media seriously considered that foreigners would be allowed to visit our historic sites in large numbers.

And I also recall many of my friends and colleagues who said they would be quite happy if our borders remained closed and Saudi Arabia was left to the Saudis.But time has a way of changing our perspective on things, and most of the skeptics have turned into optimists in recent years.

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia and around the world has certainly changed our attitudes about living in an insular world. Showcasing all that Saudi Arabia has to offer and learning about other nationalities is perhaps the best way to bridge cultural and religious gaps.But from a more practical standpoint, opening the country to foreign tourists is a smart economic move.

Just recently it has been announced that 24 new tourism projects are being launched that will bring big business to regions not typically known as tourist destinations.About SR150 billion has been set aside for a string of resorts along the Red Sea. Ras Muhaisen in the Makkah province, Ras Humaid Sharma, Dhaffat Al-Wajh and Qayyal in Tabuk, Haridha in Asir and Arrayes in Yanbu will be sites for new resorts.

Tourism centers are now planned throughout the western region, including Asir, Jizan and Najran. Construction projects are planned for heritage buildings and museums.This will serve two purposes. It will bring much needed foreign tourist dollars to these areas, creating jobs for more Saudis than probably any other industry in the country.

The projects also anticipate another huge influx of foreign workers to Saudi Arabia. Despite the current economic slowdown, plans for the country’s six economic cities and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology are continuing on schedule. These cities and the university will bring thousands of workers. KAUST, in particular, will see large numbers of Westerners live and work in the region.

Their appetites for entertainment and visiting cultural and historic sites will far exceed what Saudi Arabia has to offer now.Already tourism is now the fastest growing industry here and tourism training has taken place with fresh graduates ready to serve the Commission.The benefits of this new growth industry are limitless.

Economically depressed areas will be revitalized with jobs and a healthy economy while we are given the opportunity to present the unseen face of Saudi Arabia.I’m not so blind as to believe that opening the country to foreign tourists will occur without problems. Western culture and Islam have always struggled to find common ground.

The United Arab Emirates, for example, continually works to find a balance between accommodating foreign tourists and maintaining its cultural and religious identity.Saudi Arabia, of course on a more restrictive and different level, must contend with these issues as well if foreigners are permitted to visit in greater numbers.But overall, the visit to Tabuk by a few dozen Americans is a promising sign that there are alternatives for ensuring economic prosperity for the future.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

ALTHOUGH nobody from the Ministry of Education or the Saudi Embassy in London has ever said a thing, it has always been my personal policy that I am a representative of Saudi Arabia and in some minor form or other perform a diplomatic service.

No, I am not a government official and have absolutely no status to speak of. But while I am a post-graduate student at the University of Newcastle, I and many of my Saudi classmates believe we have a duty to present the best possible face of Saudi Arabia.

To that end, I make it a point to meet and socialize with my British hosts, other international students and enjoy the northeast English lifestyle as much as possible while at the same time remembering who I am and where I come from.

The hijab makes me stand out more than most international students, so already there is a spotlight on me and my fellow Saudi female colleagues.Given that every day I am faced with challenges of being a Muslim in Western society, I considered it a blessing and a privilege to meet last weekend in Glasgow with Princess Fadwa Bint Khalid Bin Abdullah, wife of HRH Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

I must admit that leaving Newcastle for Glasgow early Sunday morning didn’t seem like the brightest idea. To tell you the truth when I left the warmth of my apartment and felt my cheeks sharply kissed by the cold wind of winter, I wondered why someone like me would be interested in an all-women gathering, even if held in a fancy hotel. I would rather spend that time drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book under my dear blanket on my comfortable couch.

But encouraged by a friend of mine, I went to the railway station to meet five other Saudi women students. Once we arrived in Edinburgh for a short stop, we had to disembark and stand in the cold for another 40 minutes before boarding again. I asked myself why a Madina girl used to the arid, dry weather in Saudi Arabia would make such a trip.

But with warmth and passion, Princess Fadwa greeted each and every one of us after we arrived. She wanted to hear about our experiences in the UK and whatever complaints we had about our studies and our scholarships. Naturally, being scholarship students, we never have enough money and we never feel that the Saudi Cultural Bureau is responsive enough to our needs. So the complaints poured forth.

Yet Princess Fadwa was patient with us. And all of us were in for a surprise. At the hotel when they announced her arrival, I expected to smell Oud and see at least a half-dozen companions hovering around the princess. To my surprise, an elegant lady who looked as young as many women in the audience entered with a wide and attractive smile.

She apologized for being 20 minutes late, and insisted on being seated in a place where she could see and hear every single person in the crowded room.She engaged in a lively dialogue with the attendees that not only included Saudi female students in the UK, but the wives of male students as well. She discussed our problems with each person individually.

Citing the example of her own life as a working mother, she encouraged us to learn and get the most out of our stay in the UK. Nevertheless, she was keen to remind us that we should work hard to achieve the right balance between the increasing demand and challenge of our lives and our families.

She encouraged us to get out of our shells and get to know the local people and their culture. She asked us to maximize the benefit of being in such a beautiful country where civilization and modernization meet.“You have to learn about culture as much as about science,” she said. “Go out, go to theaters and museums, and get along with your neighbors, teachers and classmates. I want people to get to know and love you for who you are but always keep in mind that communicating with others does not necessarily mean changing your skin or adopting new values. Do mix but keep your culture and religion intact.”

She said that no matter what officials do to promote the social and cultural aspect of Saudi Arabia, the Western media will perceive it as propaganda. She also said that what she cares about is people-to-people interaction.“I want the people here to see the humanitarian side of Saudis,” she said.

It was a relief to me, but not unexpected, to hear Princess Fadwa confirm and endorse what I and my fellow female Saudi students already believe in. Some of our harshest critics are other Saudis who give us disapproving or harsh looks and mutter to themselves when they see us socialize with Westerners or enjoy a movie at the cinema.Princess Fadwa put me at ease and made me less self-conscious about how I conduct myself in my host country.

The princess was accompanied by Dr. Elham Danish, head of the women’s section in the Saudi Embassy in London, and Sawsan Jad, female students coordinator in London, who both introduced the group to the Tawasul volunteering program. The program was launched three years ago in London to connect Saudi families - and in particular women - in the UK and Ireland.

The program aims at raising women’s awareness of the available social opportunities. It also focuses on tackling women’s social, financial and health problems.One important lesson I learned from the gathering is that behind many Saudi women on a scholarship there is a sad story of injustice, divorce or separation from the ones they love.

I have come to learn that Saudi women are real fighters and they deserve society’s care, respect and trust.The sacrifices they have made to obtain a university scholarship are worth acknowledgment both locally and internationally. The determination that I saw in those women’s eyes has assured me that this is their time and they will be the new leaders of positive change that our present leaders are seeking.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The interfaith conference held last week at the United Nations marked a bold step for Saudi Arabia in general and King Abdullah in particular.

This sequel, of you will, to the interfaith conference held earlier this year in Madrid solidifies the world view that religion is not a justification for terrorism and the killing of innocents and that tolerance of various religions is the key to global peace.

The conference had a few unexpected surprises and its share of historic moments. Israeli Prime Minister Simon Perez made positive comments regarding the intent of King Abdullah's efforts to bring about international dialogue of religious issues. He also spoke encouragingly about the Saudi-initiated 2002 Arab peace plan that would bring peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors in exchange to Israel returning to its pre-1967 borders.

No one expects a quick resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but for the first time in decades we may see some sort of breakthrough that could eventually lead to peace.

While Saudi religious authorities have fully endorsed the interfaith conference, it's unfortunate that conservatives in some Islamic circles are critical that the Israelis were invited to the conference in the first place.

The Saudi government pointed out that the conference was held by the United Nations and, therefore, had made the invitations. But that is beside the point. Just how does one conduct an interfaith conference without inviting all religious representatives, much less a religious segment considered by Muslims to be the People of the Book. Simply put, there is no room for political agendas at such an event.

Despite the general positive reaction to the conference, there are troubling noises from some Western groups: One is the persistent question of when Saudi Arabia will permit other religions to publicly worship in the Kingdom. The other issue is the speculation that Saudi Arabia wants to have anti-blasphemy laws passed to make it a criminal offense to ridicule or mock religions.

It's been my feeling all along, and I have stated this before, that most Saudis liken the Land of the Two Holy Mosques to the Vatican. We don't expect to place a mosque inside the Vatican, so why must we consider placing a church in Jeddah or Riyadh.

But having said that, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal noted that it's up to Muslims to decide whether such public worship will be permitted.

"The Kingdom is the cradle of Islam and a country where millions of Muslims come every year to perform the Haj and the King is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Thus, the Kingdom is responsible for (reflecting) the desire and will of the Ummah worldwide," Prince Saud said last week.

He added that, "If you bring people together so that they understand that they have the same ethics, they have the same values, this will open the hearts and minds of people for further progress. But to say from the beginning you have to transform yourself into something which you aren't now or nothing else can be achieved is, I think, carrying the argument too far."

The other issue is the hysterical tone some Western media have taken by suggesting there is a Saudi conspiracy to demand the implementation of anti-blasphemy laws. Never mind that there has been little discussion among Saudi authorities to demand such laws. But it's not a bad idea.Given the disaster following the publication of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the hate directed at Muslims from conservative bloggers, perhaps an anti-blasphemy law would be appropriate.

The paranoia among the Western media would have the world believe this is an effort by Muslims to stifle any criticism of Muslim. But they forget that is would be a law to protect all religions.

The reality, though, is that Western nations would never stand for such a law because freedom of speech is so ingrained in the democratic ideal. Implementation of such a law on an international level would never get off the ground given the power of these Western countries.But there can be a compromise.

Canada, while embracing freedom of speech and all that it holds dear in a democracy, also has stiff hate speech laws that punishes people who gratuitously mock, ridicule and threaten with violence ethnic or religious groups. It has worked well for decades. Although I should point out that it is only recently, in the aftermath of 9/11, that Canada's hate speech laws have come under criticism as too restrictive, especially when it applies to criticism of Islam.

Yet those laws have worked. Perhaps we should examine them to implement on a larger scale.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE Shoura Council this week has decided it is not time to simplify marriage laws concerning Saudis marrying foreigners.

By streamlining the law things could become more complicated according to the logic of some lawmakers.But leaving the law the way it is will only continue the heavy burden -- especially for women -- that Saudis carry if they want to marry a foreigner.

There are hundreds of examples of Saudi women in high-level jobs in Saudi Arabia and around the world. These women work in the Ministry of Education or other government jobs or are poets, writers, journalists, film directors, pilots and even race car drivers.

But the Shoura Council apparently believes that they are not competent to choose a husband.Shoura members are frustratingly vague about why they refuse to streamline marriage laws when it comes to marrying non-Saudis. The general argument is that a streamlined system would only increase the problem of spinsterhood.

“Such recommendations would greatly increase the number of Saudis marrying foreigners while we are fully aware of the complications that such marriages create,” Shoura member Abdullah Al-Dosary told a journalist this week.Well, those complications are created by the Saudi government in the first place. Perhaps minimizing the complications that exist in the law would help those marriages.

A friend of mine is a graduate of a US university and she is in her mid-30s. She owns her own home and her own car. She is a success by every standard. Her father is in ill health and she has no brothers. She told me recently of the pain she endured in order to get government approval to marry a foreigner.“I wished that I died before going through the humiliation of trying to get approval,” she said.

She said the looks that male government officials gave her while she was getting her documents processed made her feel as if she were doing something haram and immoral.It has been many months and she still has not received permission. While Saudi marriage laws affect male and female Saudis alike, the resistance to changing the regulations is really directed at women with the age-old argument that Saudi society must protect us helpless females.

While figures are not readily available, Saudi men have a much easier time marrying a non-Saudi than a Saudi women do.Human relationships are complicated and messy. People get married. They get divorced. They have custody issues regarding children. But it shouldn’t be up to the government to regulate the bonds between two people.

Yet, not only does the Saudi government insist on being part of the marriage pact from the beginning by deciding who we can marry, the government also stacks the deck against women from the onset of the relationship.The children of a Saudi mother are denied citizenship if the father is a foreigner. No matter what the future holds for the marriage, the children of a Saudi woman will never be fully integrated into Saudi society.

Despite being born and raised as Saudis, they will never be treated as Saudis, which limits their social, economic and professional opportunities.The same goes for foreign-born husbands. They must be in the country on the wife’s sponsorship or the sponsorship of her father. And unless the foreign-born husband is working for a non-Saudi company, his prospects of professional success are limited. And this doesn’t even address the exclusion he faces as a non-Saudi in society.

For all the worrying Saudi government officials do over whether Saudi/non-Saudi marriages will work, they do their best to set the marriage up for failure before it even beginsThere is a tremendous gap between the attitudes of Saudi men and women about the issue of marriage to foreigners. At the risk of perpetuating stereotypes, most of the Saudi men I know oppose the idea of “their women” marrying foreigners – especially non-Arabs.

There is a proprietary attitude among men that the women in their families belong only to Saudi society.Women, of course, generally feel the opposite. Possessive, paternalistic attitudes among men are not accepted by educated women who are seeking balanced relationships. This does not necessarily mean driving a car, having a job, getting an education or going shopping alone at the mall, but the right to have the choice to do so.

Many Saudi women today no longer find it desirable to walk three steps behind their husband at the shopping center, but prefer to walk right alongside.Since many Saudi men are reluctant to give up these “perks” of male domination in the household, Saudi women are willing to consider marriage to a non-Saudi.

The opportunity to establish a relationship on an equal footing is very appealing. And with this choice, many women are willing to risk spinsterhood or establishing an independent and professional life beyond the Saudi border.So the argument that simplifying marriage laws would only increase the likelihood of spinsterhood is ridiculous.

The government should not be denying Saudis the opportunity to marry non-Saudis. They deny the country the resource of a new generation of smart, well-educated and loyal people by refusing them citizenship. They deny the country a valued resource in allowing non-Saudi men to live and work in an unrestricted environment. They deny the country the valued resource of educated Saudi women who may look elsewhere in the world for professional and personal fulfillment.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

When I was a university student in Makkah, I was often homesick since it was the first time I was away from my family.

The rules then, which still remain today, ensured that my loneliness didn’t count much. On weekends, university officials were charged to ensure girls like me were protected at all costs.

We couldn’t be trusted to leave the dormitory because girls could get into a lot of trouble when left to themselves.

So on Thursday nights, we would be locked up in our dormitories as prisoners until classes resumed on Saturday morning. The steel doors at the bottom of the stairwell that led outdoors were padlocked and an elderly man would guard it in case a crook wanted to break in and attack us.

If my brother would come to take me out to dinner or show me how the world looked like on weekends, his name had better be printed on the university’s approved list of guardians or I wasn’t going anywhere. And of course the guard should be at his post or my brother would have made his trip for nothing.We would be locked up for 48 hours assuming that we were safe.

I later realized that we were anything but safe.The old buildings lacked basic fire safety equipment and sprinkler systems. If a fire had broken out due to a girl’s sloppy cooking, we would have all burned down to death at the foot of those steel doors.

When 14 girls died in the March 2002 fire at an intermediate school in Makkah, I shuddered to think what could have happened if the fire had broken out in my dorm.Recently Okaz reported that a fire broke out at a private girls school in the Eastern Province.

The fire was started by an electrical malfunction. Fortunately the 250 girls were evacuated without any reported injuries. This was the sixth incident at the same school in just two weeks time.

So what did the government agencies learn from the 2002 Makkah school fire?

Apparently nothing.

Lt. Hamad Al-Juaid, chief of the Civil Defense Department in the Eastern Province, said the school demonstrated “gross neglect” of basic safety measures, and risked the lives of young students.

Further, Civil Defense authorities said they have not been allowed to conduct safety inspections at girls schools to check if the schools complied with safety laws.Our society insists that females must be protected, but fails to adhere to basic safety measures to guarantee their well-being.

Isn’t this hypocrisy?What is the logic behind denying Civil Defense authorities the access to school buildings? What is the logic of locking up girls in their dorms as if they were cattle. It’s as if Saudi females are an investment to be protected.Certainly the Makkah school tragedy was a result of over-zealousness displayed by a group of guardians.

A pathological desire to raise obstacles and stem progress, even when human lives are at risk, make a mockery of the male guardianship issue. We are failing to look at the big picture. If we as a society wish to preserve the guardianship requirement of women as originally intended, then it means much more than having my brother accompany me to malls or having written permission from my father to leave the country.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Having sat next to my mother on many occasions in hospitals while she receives dialysis I tend to pay close attention to whatever Dr. Faisal Shaheen, director of the Saudi Center of Organ Transplantation, has to say about his campaign to increase awareness of organ donations.As part of the center's awareness campaign, Saudi television Channel 3 Al-Riyadh hosted a discussion with Dr. Shaheen and a father who donated the organs of his brain-dead 8-year-old daughter.

I think what was most gratifying about the program was the discussion from both a scientific and religious point of view regarding organ donations and its impact on families of both the donor and the recipient. And I give thanks to God that the campaign is responsible for an 80 percent increase in awareness among Saudis about the vital need for transplants.

But at the end of this program a father, whose son was declared brain dead, called in and accused organ donation officials of being criminals and that the act of removing organs from brain dead victims is a "killing." He cited some Qur'anic verses to support his argument.

I empathize with the caller and don't blame him for his anger. We all would just about do and say anything to protect a love one, especially in a time of grief.But as Muslims we must look at the bigger picture and see the benefit that the entire society stands to gain with organ transplants.

We should not judge such sensitive issues based on our at-the-moment emotions. Dr. Shaheen stated that transplant programs will help save the lives of more than 11,000 kidney, liver and other patients. In 2006, more than 5,000 potential transplant recipients remained on waiting lists.

An organ donation will spare Muslim patients the daily pain of dialysis and water drainage. And it will save the country billions of riyals that are spent on medication, money that should go to prevention and research.

We all have a responsibility towards our society, which should never be separated from our religious duty. I am aware of the fact that some Muslim scholars are somewhat conservative on the issue of organ donations, especially when we arrive at the point where we must declare a person dead.

But we can't take Qur'anic verses literally and base our judgment on them especially when it comes to science. A team of scholars from both science and religion should sit together and discuss the issue before a fatwa is issued. This is exactly what the Supreme Council of Senior Ulama did. In 1981, the Ulama allowed both organ donation and organ transplantation in the case of necessity, by determining that the organ can be taken from the body of a living person with his/her consent and also from the body of a dead person.

The Fiqh Academy of the Muslim World League in Makkah also allowed organ donation and transplantation in its 8th session in 1984. And in 1987, the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah and the Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Sayyed At-Tantawi, also allowed the use of the body organs of a person who has died in an accident.

It is important to note that most of the jurists have only allowed the donation of the organs. They do not allow the sale of human organs. Their position is that the sale of human organs violates the rules of the dignity and honor of the human being, and so it would be haram in that case.

If we consider organ donations from an Islamic point of view, though I am not a religion scholar, we should take into consideration the Qur'anic verse that says, "Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind." (Qur'an, 5:32)

I recognize that much of these religious issues boils down to the definition of death. The People's Assembly in Egypt this month is struggling with this very issue.Akram Al-Shaer, an Egyptian MP and member of the health committee studying the issue for the People's Assembly, told the Egyptian press last week that he opposes a proposed organ donation law.

Al-Shaer told a television interviewer that, "I will only approve the new law if it was issued based on a correct definition of death; which is the permanent and definite stop of both the heart and the brain, which should be declared by a professional physician based on an extremely accurate and scientific analysis."

He said the proposed law makes no mention of the stopping of the heart to be an indication of death, leaving only brain failure as the only indication.Whether one agrees with Al-Shaer, he has a point: Death should be declared by a professional physician based on science.

And as far as I am concerned that statement makes his point irrelevant. A person who is declared brain dead by a qualified doctor will never rejoin his family no matter how long the heart remains beating or how strong our emotions are for our loved ones. Death is a messy thing. Rarely does death accommodate us by having brain and heart functions cease at the same time. But having one or the other stop functioning is indeed death in my opinion. At some point we must rely on the professional physician to tell us when a loved one is dead and to be ready to save another's life

Why do we leave the strong evidence that supports donations, including the fatwa from the Council of Senior Ulama, and instead follow extreme conservatives or the ignorant when it comes to religion?

By having such organ transplant centers and systematizing the process of donations and transplants under the supervision of a competent and compassionate authority, we spare society the trap of commercial abuse. By moving beyond the borders of our selfishness and limited thinking, we help promote healthy programs.

Friday, October 17, 2008

If the needs of Saudi women were written in tall letters on billboards in all major highways from Riyadh to Madina to Jeddah and on all major streets, I’m sure Saudi men would not understand a word of it.

Some men in positions of authority in government and private sectors would feign blindness or play the fool. “What?,” the typical Saudi male would ask. “The needs of Saudi women are simple. Feed them, clothe them, give them a driver, and money to spend at malls. What else do they need?”

I recently spent about two and a half months traveling to and fro between Madina and Jeddah before returning to UK for my studies. If I didn’t know better, I would think that half the Saudi male population is stupid by choice.

I sound a little angry because logic seems to be totally absent from public discussion in Saudi society about Saudi women, who are fast becoming the most important labor resource in the Kingdom.Some ministries do understand and appreciate the value of Saudi women.

There are forward thinking men who want to see women advance in education and the workplace. But for some reason once women reach a point to best use their education, they are told to stay at home, get married and produce enough children to make the family proud.Let’s address the education issue first.

The Ministry of Higher Education reported recently that more women than men are getting selected for scholarships. This year alone, 2,585 women were selected for master’s degree scholarships out of the total 4,779 candidates. Some 86 students out of the total 127 chosen for doctoral degree programs were women. In all, more than 50,000 Saudi men and women are studying abroad in about two dozen countries.

Year in and year out, Saudi women have proved that they are more motivated, more studious and more ambitious to earn a post-graduate degree than Saudi men. At Newcastle University, both Saudi men and women students are dedicated to their studies, but women are more organized and more willing to form study groups with other students of different nationalities and gender.

They are more open-minded about how to best utilize the resources the university has in offer.But what happens after Saudi women successfully obtain post-graduate degrees?She has two options: One, put the degree in the closet and start looking for a husband to raise a family.

If she earns a math degree perhaps it will serve her better when she calculates the grocery bill in her head at the Danube hypermarket or when she buys that Prada bag and the smart jacket that goes with it.

The second option is to teach. I’m sure teaching in a high school or a women’s college will be fulfilling for some, but for many women their eyes would glaze over with boredom at the mere thought of classroom instruction.Both of these options remind me of Victorian era America and England.

If a woman insists on getting a university education it’s only to serve the men in the family by being a gracious host and intelligent conversationalist or because teaching is the only “appropriate” vocation for women.

So here we are at the end of the first decade of the 21st century embracing 19th century Victorian ideals, yet we want to be taken seriously by the international community.All this reminds me of Saudi society’s continuing failure in keeping up its promises to Saudi women.

I’m not talking about the right to drive because that promise is dangled in front of us like a carrot on a stick. Behave, and maybe we will be able to drive a car “some day.”No, I’m talking about the comedy of women not being allowed to work in lingerie shops despite an order passed by the Ministry of Labor two years ago.

For all the trembling fears we Saudis have about gender mixing, we insist on foreign male drivers carting us from one mall to another, we insist on foreign men talking to us about our underwear. If a Saudi male stranger asked a woman her bra size, I’m guessing the sky would fall and the earth would split open. Her brothers would fly into a tizzy and demand the stranger’s head.

Me? I don’t care one way or another, but for the majority of women they rather have females working at lingerie shops. But more importantly, Saudi women want jobs. For those who don’t think that a university education is an option, why not give them the most logical and appropriate job available?Why is it that despite Saudi women continuing to demonstrate their intelligence, our society refuses to employ them in meaningful jobs.

The bottom line is, there is a segment in our society that is blind to progress and equates progress with Western values. We as a society lack the courage to confront these ignorant people to allow us to grow and mature as a country. I wonder just what will it take to for our society to stop tolerating this nonsense.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

When I was a kid growing up I watched a lot of Tom and Jerry cartoons. I didn’t like Jerry much. It wasn’t because he was a mouse but because he was so mean to Tom. I thought his attacks on the cat were unjustified.

So I perked up a little when I read that Sheikh Mohammed Al-Munajid told Al Majd TV recently that a mouse is “one of Satan’s soldiers.” Tom, I think, would sympathize.

Sheikh Al-Munajid went on to say, “How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry? Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice. Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”It’s not surprising that Sheikh Al-Munajid’s remarks gained worldwide attention and much criticism from the usual Saudi-bashers and Islamophobes. What better target than a sheikh who attacks the beloved Mickey Mouse, the symbol to Americans that humanity can be found in a rodent.

There are several problems with the criticisms heaped on Al-Munajid. For one, it was described as a fatwa by the Western press. These were remarks during a television appearance and at most he was expressing his own opinion and not issuing any formal religious edict.

For another, his comments were widely circulated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a pro-Israeli Arabic translation website. Western media routinely use MEMRI to obtain Arabic news. What are lost in these translations are attempts at dry humour and sarcasm. A look at the interview on YouTube one can detect that Al-Munajid was probably attempting to make a little joke about Mickey Mouse.

In their zeal to publish another story about crazy Arabs issuing crazy fatwas, journalists missed the nuance of the interview. Now we are put in the same position we often find ourselves, which is being the object of ridicule and contempt. This doesn’t bother me since I am comfortable in being a Saudi and with my relationship with God. I only answer to God, not to Western contempt.

But there is another aspect from the fallout of this television appearance that should be considered. It should be clear from the beginning of a televised appearance the distinction between opinion, discussion and a fatwa. Providing answers to an interviewer’s questions or questions from a television audience doesn’t necessarily mean that a fatwa has been issued. How can it be without the proper research and deliberation?

Perhaps a more fundamental issue is just who is entitled to issue a fatwa. Honestly, over the years I have heard from clerics I never heard of issue fatwas that were just plain ridiculous. Issuing fatwas should a job for the Council of Senior Ulama, which spends the time, research and deliberations to make proper judgments. This would go a long way towards eliminating confusion of what is a fatwa and what is merely discussion and opinion.

In the cold light of the transcript, Sheikh Al-Munajid’s comments, taken out of context, present an image of backwardness. But what many non-Muslims fail to appreciate is that televised discussions of our religion are very popular and instructional to Saudis. It doesn’t mean that we view cartoon mice as Satan’s foot soldiers. It just means we are enjoying and responding to religious dialogue and perhaps the occasional humour that comes with it.

I kind of view the Western media the same why I view Jerry. Jerry commits illogical violence and trickery apparently for the pleasure and delight of provoking Tom to react. Western cable pundits are not much different.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A religious battle – nothing to do with terrorism or the invasion of American troops in a Muslim country – is going on in the heartland of the United States. Central Nebraska to be specific. The land of corn, pickup trucks and evangelical Christians.

The issue is whether Muslim workers at a food processing plant can be allowed to pray during working hours and to break fast at sunset during Ramadan. It hardly seems to be a burning issue among Muslims worldwide, but in the city of Grand Island there have been protests, firing workers and allegations of religious discrimination by Christians and Muslims alike.

The workers at the plant are primarily Somali refugees who have long struggled to assimilate into the American society. There has been a huge influx of Somali immigrants into America’s Midwest because of its low cost of living, modest housing prices and a generally tolerant view of Midwesterners toward immigrants.These immigrants have been at the center of controversy before.

Somali taxi drivers have refused to take passengers possessing or being under the influence of alcohol or have a dog with them. With the exception of rather loud opinions of American conservative extremists, these small cultural and religious eruptions settled down quietly.The incidents at the food processing plants are somewhat different because unlike business offices and retail outlets, there are significant safety and production issues.

Plant managers are concerned that workers walking off the processing line once or twice during their working hours can affect productivity. It’s illegal in the United States to ask potential employees during the hiring process about their religion. Federal law demands that employers “reasonably accommodate” workers’ religious obligations.

The exception to this accommodation is if making changes in workers’ schedule causes a hardship to the business, such as reducing efficiency or affecting safety guidelines.While one can appreciate the Americans’ desire to keep religion a private matter and not hire workers based on their religious affiliation, an employer must be woefully ignorant not to recognize that a large number of his workers are Muslim.

So it is quite reasonable that a compromise can be met if a company hires a significant number of Muslims. Reasonable accommodation can be arranged with a work schedule to fit in prayer times and allow a brief iftar at sunset.The problem in the United States is two-fold: Islam has become so politicized that many people can no longer view the duties of a Muslim as a religious issue, but one of Muslims attempting to change the landscape of a Christian nation through force.

Many conservatives have gone so far as to label the wants and needs of Muslims as some sort of silent jihad.The other problem is the refusal of some Muslim immigrants to assimilate into Western society. We in Saudi Arabia ask our expatriate workers to respect our customs, traditions and religion while they are guests here. The same could be said for Muslims choosing to live in the United States.

That doesn’t mean they are not entitled to praying five times a day. Of course they have that right. And every employer who respects freedom of religion should find a compromise to accommodate Muslims during work hours. But some Muslims take their beliefs to the extreme. What works in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Somalia doesn’t necessarily work in the West, and special considerations must be addressed.

If you choose to be a taxi driver, then you have to take passengers under the influence of alcohol safely home.There also have been controversies surrounding Muslims working at the JBS Swift & Co. meat packing plant in which pork is processed. Muslim workers have refused to handle pork and have been fired for refusing to handle it.

Any person in the US with a television set, an Internet connection or has gone grocery shopping knows that JBS Swift is a leader in pork products. You don’t want to handle pork? Don’t work at Swift. Don’t like drunk passengers? Don’t be a taxi driver.The point is simple. Accommodation comes from both sides. Compromises have saved the world from many crises in the past.

If you shut out the noise from the religious bigots and take time to understand US history, this whole “us versus them” issue between Muslims and Westerners is a result of new immigrants arriving at American shores.The Irish in the 19th century faced severe discrimination because they were Catholics who adhered to the edicts of a single man in the Vatican and engaged in what was then deemed strange religious ceremonies.

Orthodox Jews, or Shomrei Shabbos, do not operate machinery or drive cars or use electric appliances after sundown on Friday till Saturday night. To this day there are some Jewish American baseball players who refuse to play the sport on Saturday so they can observe the Sabbath.Historically, Christian Americans have accepted them over time and the same will eventually occur with Muslims as Muslim communities assimilate into their new environment. Give it time. Ramadan, like any other American holiday, whether religious or secular, will become common in the US workplace.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

AS a regular, if not daily, visitor to hospitals in Madina and Jeddah for my mother’s medical care, I have become more intimate than I care to admit about medical centers.

Though I have come across some well qualified nurses whom I consider life-savers in my mother’s treatment, I have also seen several other nurses whom I wouldn’t trust to treat the neighborhood dumpster cat.

Providing quality medical care is one of the many issues Saudi Arabia faces.I acknowledge that Filipino nurses are usually qualified and dedicated to the job, but does that mean we must continue to recruit Filipinos for nursing positions here? Recently, the Philippines government announced that 2,000 Filipinos will be recruited to work in Saudi Arabia. The applicants must be graduates in nursing.

Work experience, however, is not a requirement.Monthly salaries for these nurses range from SR 2,250 to SR4,000. They get all benefits like 45 days annual paid vacation with a round-trip air ticket to their home country, free transportation and free housing. This is fine for Filipinos, but not so for Saudi women. Even in 2008 a stigma that nursing is a less than noble profession remains in Saudi minds.

They still feel it is an embarrassment for Saudi women to treat and provide aid and comfort to the sick and afflicted.This was even more true 10 years ago. The idea of a Saudi woman entering the nursing profession was short of being scandalous. Today an estimated 35 percent of the nurses in Saudi Arabia are Saudi women. By contrast, in Kuwait - which is perceived as a progressive Arab nation - only 8 percent of the nurses are Kuwaiti women.Clearly, the perception in the last decade has changed and acceptance of Saudi women as nurses is now more prominent.

Over the last five years, the Saudi government has repeatedly stated its commitment to hire more Saudi female nurses to work in government and private hospitals. The Ministry of Health pledged to employ as many as 70,000 Saudi female nurses by 2010. Despite such announcements, recruitment of nurses from Philippines and other countries continues. Rather than training Saudi nurses, the government is hiring non-Saudis.

This doesn’t mean the Saudi government should embark on a Saudization program of placing unqualified workers in jobs. Such a program is bound to fail.Saudi female nurses have a reputation of not doing the job properly. Complaints of failing to show up to work on time, lacking proficiency in their work and refusing to treat male patients are quite common.

These selfish girls remind me of the female Muslim medical students in the United Kingdom who refused to wash up before a medical procedure because they are required to roll up their sleeves up to their elbows.Ridiculous. If one can’t abide by the rules of the profession and give 100 percent of what is required, then these women should do what they are best at: Stay at home or go to the mall to buy the latest Hermes purse or Chopard watch.

The nursing profession doesn’t need them.My guess is, there are plenty of Saudi women out there willing to provide care for the sick and eager to earn a good salary. Let’s not waste our precious labor resources by continuing to recruit expatriates, especially when we have enough qualified workers within our own borders.

Monday, August 25, 2008

TWO news stories published earlier this month got me to thinking about the future of professional Saudi women.

Just where do they fit in Saudi society and what contributions will they make – or maybe it’s better to say, allowed to make – as working professionals in Saudi Arabia.

The Boston Globe reported that 13 Saudi women recently completed an international diplomacy course sponsored jointly by Dar Al-Hekma College and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

The same week, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News published an interview with Saudi writer Wajeha Al-Huawaider, who warned that Saudi women studying abroad are reluctant to return home because they enjoy the freedom of independent living and they want to pursue greater employment opportunities.

These seemingly unrelated articles actually convey similar themes that dominate the lives of Saudi women. And in the case of women seeking diplomatic careers, it raises the inherent conflict Saudi women feel about the intense patriotism they feel for their country and the desire for their country to treat them better.There is no question that the Ministry of Higher Education has done much in recent years to provide scholarships for women to study abroad.

I am the beneficiary of such a program. The intent by the ministry is to give Saudi women a Western education so they can return home and contribute to society much like their fathers and uncles have done in the 1970s and ‘80s.

One reason why Saudi Arabia has flourished in the international business community over 30 years is because thousands of men studied in the West and brought that knowledge home to apply it to Saudi business practices.

Now women are given similar opportunities. But there is a twist. The reality is the Ministry of Higher Education wants its women to get the best education possible. The fantasy is that there will be well-paying jobs, respect and opportunities for advancement in the workplace.I’ve always admired the work performed at Dar Al-Hekma, with many of its bold and aggressive programs to prepare women for the workplace.

Its relationship with the Fletcher School is a prime example.Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma, told the Boston Globe, “We want women ambassadors, women officials, women leaders – not women working in the office.

My efforts here will push the ministry (of foreign affairs) to make serious steps. Now they have no excuse. We have a prepared group, and they are not secretary material.”Al-Qurashi is correct.

The ministry will have no excuse. But that doesn’t mean jobs will magically appear once these 13 young women apply. The reality is that only a fraction of the diplomatic corps in Washington, D.C. is female.This brings to mind Wajeha Al-Huawaider’s calls for Saudi women studying in Bahrain and other countries to return home with their new education and experience in foreign countries.

She complained that Saudi women searching for too much freedom abroad is a dangerous trend because they will be reluctant to return home to fight for change.The problem with Al-Huawaider’s concern is that many Saudi women don’t want to fight the good fight for greater freedom, demand driving rights and seek high-level positions in private and government institutions.

Do they want these things? Of course. But rather than pick up the cause, most young women are only too aware that they have one life to live. They feel they would be better served enjoying living an independent and rich life rather than beating their head against a brick wall because their male boss either feels threatened by their talent or wants them as a second wife.

I have spoken to many Saudi women. They view their future after earning a university degree as living outside Saudi Arabia, marrying a non-Saudi and being employed by a company that doesn’t care about the status of her family or whether she will be perceived as a “good Muslim girl.”

Why worry about a supervisor who thinks a woman is loose because she works in a mixed environment when you can work for a boss who is only interested in the results and quality of her work?That’s why it’s interesting to see that Saudi women want to become diplomats.

They have the best of both worlds. They demonstrate their loyalty by representing Saudi Arabia in the most prestigious way. They live abroad. And for the most part their lives are independent. Take that a step further.

Saudi women with international experience and education are eager to find employment with the United Nations, an NGO or a Middle East company based in the West. By Saudi standards, that is complete freedom.If the Saudi government beyond the Ministry of Education truly wants to benefit from the experiences of Saudi women, then an education is simply not enough.

Only through efforts to change the environment in the workplace and in government offices will Saudi Arabia be allowed to benefit from giving women an education. Today, living and working abroad is appealing.

TWO news stories published earlier this month got me to thinking about the future of professional Saudi women.

Just where do they fit in Saudi society and what contributions will they make – or maybe it’s better to say, allowed to make – as working professionals in Saudi Arabia.

The Boston Globe reported that 13 Saudi women recently completed an international diplomacy course sponsored jointly by Dar Al-Hekma College and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

The same week, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News published an interview with Saudi writer Wajeha Al-Huawaider, who warned that Saudi women studying abroad are reluctant to return home because they enjoy the freedom of independent living and they want to pursue greater employment opportunities.

These seemingly unrelated articles actually convey similar themes that dominate the lives of Saudi women. And in the case of women seeking diplomatic careers, it raises the inherent conflict Saudi women feel about the intense patriotism they feel for their country and the desire for their country to treat them better.There is no question that the Ministry of Higher Education has done much in recent years to provide scholarships for women to study abroad.

I am the beneficiary of such a program. The intent by the ministry is to give Saudi women a Western education so they can return home and contribute to society much like their fathers and uncles have done in the 1970s and ‘80s.

One reason why Saudi Arabia has flourished in the international business community over 30 years is because thousands of men studied in the West and brought that knowledge home to apply it to Saudi business practices.

Now women are given similar opportunities. But there is a twist. The reality is the Ministry of Higher Education wants its women to get the best education possible. The fantasy is that there will be well-paying jobs, respect and opportunities for advancement in the workplace.I’ve always admired the work performed at Dar Al-Hekma, with many of its bold and aggressive programs to prepare women for the workplace.

Its relationship with the Fletcher School is a prime example.Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma, told the Boston Globe, “We want women ambassadors, women officials, women leaders – not women working in the office.

My efforts here will push the ministry (of foreign affairs) to make serious steps. Now they have no excuse. We have a prepared group, and they are not secretary material.”Al-Qurashi is correct.

The ministry will have no excuse. But that doesn’t mean jobs will magically appear once these 13 young women apply. The reality is that only a fraction of the diplomatic corps in Washington, D.C. is female.This brings to mind Wajeha Al-Huawaider’s calls for Saudi women studying in Bahrain and other countries to return home with their new education and experience in foreign countries.

She complained that Saudi women searching for too much freedom abroad is a dangerous trend because they will be reluctant to return home to fight for change.The problem with Al-Huawaider’s concern is that many Saudi women don’t want to fight the good fight for greater freedom, demand driving rights and seek high-level positions in private and government institutions.

Do they want these things? Of course. But rather than pick up the cause, most young women are only too aware that they have one life to live. They feel they would be better served enjoying living an independent and rich life rather than beating their head against a brick wall because their male boss either feels threatened by their talent or wants them as a second wife.

I have spoken to many Saudi women. They view their future after earning a university degree as living outside Saudi Arabia, marrying a non-Saudi and being employed by a company that doesn’t care about the status of her family or whether she will be perceived as a “good Muslim girl.”

Why worry about a supervisor who thinks a woman is loose because she works in a mixed environment when you can work for a boss who is only interested in the results and quality of her work?That’s why it’s interesting to see that Saudi women want to become diplomats.

They have the best of both worlds. They demonstrate their loyalty by representing Saudi Arabia in the most prestigious way. They live abroad. And for the most part their lives are independent. Take that a step further.

Saudi women with international experience and education are eager to find employment with the United Nations, an NGO or a Middle East company based in the West. By Saudi standards, that is complete freedom.If the Saudi government beyond the Ministry of Education truly wants to benefit from the experiences of Saudi women, then an education is simply not enough. Only through efforts to change the environment in the workplace and in government offices will Saudi Arabia be allowed to benefit from giving women an education. Today, living and working abroad is appealing.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

THERE is a perception that Saudis are rolling in money as the price of a barrel of oil hovers around $130. Americans have cut their driving drastically as a gallon of gasoline sells for $4.50, while we Saudis continue driving our Escalades and Hummers without much care.

Well, yes, actually we are driving our big cars and paying relatively low prices for gasoline. And I don’t feel too guilty about it. But are we living in the lap of luxury and laughing all the way to the bank as the West sheds tears of frustration because they have to buy small cars? No we’re not.

There is something to be said that the Saudi government is using its oil wealth to build huge new cities and universities to guarantee our economic future with or without oil. But the average Saudi is hardly sitting pretty atop a huge pile of money.

Like elsewhere in the world, Saudis are suffering the same fate as an average American or British family. Inflation is out of control and is creating significant hardships among the poor and middle class.

This week the Ministry of Economy and Planning’s Central Department of Statistics announced that Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation climbed 10.6 percent in June, marking a 30-year high as food and housing costs increase.“We could be reaching some kind of plateau within three months but we don’t see a rampant inflation that is out of control,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at SABB bank, HSBC’s subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.

Well, maybe Sfakianakis doesn’t see rampant inflation, but there is enough anecdotal evidence to indicate that Saudis have been hit hard.The report notes that food and beverage costs increased 15.8 percent in June compared with a hike of 15.1 percent in May. Rents, fuel and water skyrocketed nearly 19 percent in June as well.

Monica Malik, chief economist at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, Egypt’s investment bank, said that “Saudi inflation is still going to be rent and food-driven for the rest of the year. We expect some stabilization in food prices (in the future).”That is not much comfort to people trying to feed their families.

As the expression goes, when two elephants fight in the jungle, it’s the grass that is the first victim. Wall Street speculators are driving up the cost of oil and big mortgage banks in the US gave away risky loans creating a real estate collapse not seen since the Depression of the 1930s.

Now the chickens are coming home to roost as the US dollar weakens and inflation soars on a global level.Next time you go to the supermarket, check out the buying habits of your neighbors. Saudis, for better or for worse, reveled in leisure grocery shopping.

By that I mean they rarely used a calculator to keep track of costs, didn’t use shopping lists, and if they felt a little blue or bored, they took off for the supermarket or local mall for a little shopping to brighten their day.

Today, I see more and more couples with a calculator in their hands and making demands on clerks that products have a price tag attached or a label on the shelf. The lower class, always mindful of the value of a Saudi riyal, are much more careful with their grocery budget and spend more time in the market to ensure they get the best value for their money.

All of this, by Saudi society standards, is unusual if not somewhat disturbing.I’ve been abroad for a while, so the contrast from what I saw last year and now is rather startling. I understand the public sector salaries have been increased to compensate at least for some of the inflation, but private businesses have not necessarily followed.

And many upper class Saudis are still reeling under losses in the stock market. Many Saudis and expats are left to fend for themselves in a financial environment that does not look promising. Analysts can predict all they want about how inflation may level off, but prices are not likely to drop.

What I’ve seen since I returned to Saudi Arabia for my summer vacation is a general atmosphere of depression. A realization that the economic benefits we have enjoyed with relative low prices of goods, food and fuel have been chipped away to the point that our lifestyle is about to change in a way that will make putting food on the table more of a struggle.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

THERE is probably no more important issue than tuition that affects Saudi women attending universities abroad than the requirement to have a mahram.

One of greatest joys and probably the most important decision for potential students is the opportunity to study abroad. But for many women the opportunity just isn’t there.The Ministry of Higher Education has been unmoving in its policy to require that a male relative accompany a female student on a scholarship to a university in a foreign country.

Women who are attending universities at their own expense are not required to have a mahram. But every female student on a scholarship is not only required to have a male relative with her, but to have the man present his passport to the Saudi embassy to have it recorded and approved.

All of this ensures that the woman has an appropriate guardian but also that the tuition money is used properly.Unfortunately, this policy leaves many women unable to attend a Western university.

Saudi Arabia has always placed huge emphasis on studies at Western universities. Our fathers and older brothers enjoyed the best educations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and brought back that education home.

Saudi Arabia is a better place today because these men have a global perspective of life and also about how it can be applied to Saudi society.

The post 9/11 world has severely affected the availability of these opportunities.But in the past year or so, the United States has relaxed conditions in issuing visas for Saudi university students and we are beginning to see the number of students climb to pre-9/11 levels.And even better is the fact that more and more women are now able to go abroad for their undergraduate studies or to pursue their master’s or doctorate degrees.

With more women entering the workplace and the Saudi government easing its restrictions on gender segregation, women see a wide horizon in employment opportunities.But at the same time it is counterproductive to have stringent rules in place that deny many Saudi women an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a foreign education that their fathers and brothers experienced.

I’m talking, of course, of those bright young women who are eager for an education, but come from a family that can’t afford to have one of its men away from Saudi Arabia for four years and remain jobless.Or those smaller families that have no male relative to accompany them abroad.

Should these women be penalized because they don’t come from large families with an abundance of idle brothers or a retired uncle or father who can afford to play tourist in a foreign country for four years? Not to mention the fact that immigration officials in some Western countries can’t grasp the idea of a mahram and wonder what a Saudi man with time on his hands is going to do with himself for four years.

The answer to this problem is deceptively simple.Saudi women can travel freely without a mahram simply by having written permission. I am among the lucky ones who have a full-time maharm to accompany them during their years of study.My father has also given me a written permission that has allowed me to travel to the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan among other countries.

A similar, and yes, even bold, plan can be developed for female students wishing to study abroad.But perhaps more practical would be developing a system that allows Saudi women to be grouped, perhaps as many as five women, who live together in a dormitory setting and can share household responsibilities and look out for each other in the academic, social and domestic environments.

If the Ministry of Higher Education believes it can’t trust five Saudi women living together, perhaps an appointed “den mother” or “den father” can be approved by the ministry to watch over all five girls.

These are not meant to be perfect solutions, but a starting point to discuss how we can honor the Hadith in which a mahram is required and allow women their right to a full education.Given that increasing numbers of women entering the workforce and many of these women in management positions, it does a disservice to the country that we deny some women a fair chance at an education simply because they are not in a position to have a full-time mahram over a long period of time.

We are witnessing exciting times as we aggressively pursue a diverse economy.Working women are becoming more important to that diverse economy, but we only harm ourselves by denying them the right to a full education.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

THE prevailing wisdom among many Americans and most Arabs is that the best candidate to lift the United States out of the muddy hole it dug for itself in Iraq is Barack Obama.

John McCain, at least on this side of the world, doesn’t even run a distant second. Obama is holding the future of free world in his hands.As much as he is considered the new hope for war-weary Americans, his trip to the Middle East and Europe is far from impressive.

He is visiting Afghanistan and Iraq because American troops are there. He will visit Israel because America is an unconditional ally of that country. And he is visiting Germany because that is where his media moment will come. But more on Germany in a moment.

What Obama is not doing is visiting an Arab country that would demonstrate that Muslim opinion matters to him. Not just the Muslims who lost family members to American firepower, but to Muslims who are eager for normal relations with the United States.

Any of the GCC countries would do. And if Obama wanted to send a message that we are all in the fight against terrorism together, what better way than including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or even fun-loving Dubai on his itinerary.But what is more worrying than Obama’s snub of Muslims is his fence-straddling over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There has been much criticism of Obama lately for his changing positions on a number of domestic and foreign issues. Yet this is your run-of-the-mill political gamesmanship. He has all but secured the Democratic nomination for president, so he must now move away from his left-leaning rhetoric to the center to capture voters who are undecided.All understandable, but now he seems to embrace President Bush’s “surge” in Iraq since it is perceived in the West as a success and points toward an American victory.

So what does Obama want to do? He wants to move 10,000 American troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to chase down and snuff out the Taleban.This is rather meaningless and simply illustrates that Obama is pandering to the American voter. Pull troops out of Iraq as he has always promised and send them to fight the real enemy that is hiding: Osama Bin Laden.

But moving troops from one combat zone to another is only symbolic and simply serves to escalate the war in Afghanistan, which has already seen 700 civilians die this year alone.It appears that Obama is not aware of the “cockroach factor.”

You spray one portion of the house with insecticide to get rid of the roaches only to have them scurry to another part of the house. Once that poison disappears, the cockroaches race back. It’s easy to overstate the success of the surge. Al-Qaeda is moving to Afghanistan to continue their fight, but once Iraq is left vulnerable with a weak army, guess what? They will scurry back and the US will be in the same position it was a year ago.

If Obama is showing off his foreign policy acumen, he is doing a poor job of it. But let’s be realistic here. Obama’s tour of the Middle East and Europe is not to demonstrate his expertise in foreign affairs. As much as I admire him he is a lightweight in this area. And he has smartly said that he is in the Middle East to listen not talk. So what this amounts to is a publicity campaign and photo op.

His feet firmly planted on Iraq and Afghanistan soil will give him certain measure of credibility in the eyes of the American voter.Which brings me to Germany.Perhaps more important to the Obama campaign than visits to Iraq and Afghanistan is his much anticipated appearance on Thursday at Tiergarten Park in Berlin.

His speech is expected to draw huge crowds in a country that is enthralled with all things Obama.Obama, who has fashioned himself as somewhat the 21st century version of President John F. Kennedy, is likely seeking his own “Ich bin ein Berliner” moment that cemented Kenney’s international credentials and won the hearts and minds of Europeans, especially those in 1963 Berlin who were cut off from their families living in Communist East Germany.

If Obama can draw the thousands of Germans expected Thursday and strike the right tone that echoes one of Kennedy’s most triumphant moments in his presidency, then Obama’s paper-thin solutions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will matter less to Americans who continue to seek a leader they can believe in.